♝♗

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄:

𝑊 𝐸 ' 𝑉 𝐸   𝐴 𝐿 𝐿
𝐿 𝑂 𝑆 𝑇   𝑂 𝑈 𝑅   𝑀 𝐼 𝑁 𝐷 𝑆

"They're asleep. Everyone." Evie observes in horror as the group walk through the picnic tables the school uses for lunchtime.

The Core Four try not to let it phase them that much that their new home is going through a dark period like this. Auradon always seemed like nothing could go wrong, but Harry knew better. Harry listened for hours on end how truly horrid Auradon was, and Jax was always very descriptive.

"I can't get Ben," Mal announces, looking up from her phone as her friends respond similarly.

"Or Dizzy or Doug," Evie continues worriedly.

"Or Jane, the signals out." Carlos was just as troubled as his friends.

While the four went over their sleeping classmates and while Gil was having a blast, Harry was being extra mischievous. It was of course mainly to get a rise out of Jay, though it could've been any of the four kids, it was just easier to get on the son of Jafar's bad side.

After having his emotions on display for some of his worst enemies, he needed to take back some control. If that meant annoying and provoking the ex-thief as much as possible, Harry was more than willing to go at it.

"Ooh, well, I believe I deserve some compensation for my many muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor." He spoke to the snoring student as he plucked the boy's wallet from his pocket.

His actions were cut off by the target of his hate at the moment. "You do. Me not squashing you like a bug." Jay said, taking back the dollar bills and placing them inside the student's front shirt pocket.

Harry laughs, "Think I'm scared of you, Jay?" He turns his hook towards the athlete's neck.

"Guys!" Mal and Uma call out in unison.

Harry abandoned his plans momentarily as they went closer to the school. Suddenly, the idea of seeing Jax again was much more reality than fantasy. He blocked out what the rest of the group had begun to discuss as he imagined meeting the infamous Ruby Queen. All he really knew about her was what Jax had told him, which wasn't much.

Harry collapsed into the sheets of his bed inside the boat, the Lost Revenge. Sweat covered both his and Jax's bodies as they panted, exhausted from their most recent activity.

After a while, they simply laid next to each other, 'till Jax had to ask, "What had Uma so off today? It was like the water in her drink was saltier than normal."

"She-who-shall-not-be-named is forcing Carlos De Vil to throw a party for her in Hell Hall," Harry answered. It surprised Jax to hear that Mal was the source of a party on the Isle, seeing as how she hated them, "My guess is she just isn't happy that Mal is up to something. And when she's up to something, she usually succeeds." Harry got up from the bed and made his way to the wooden table that contained leftover food and alcohol, "All I know is that she's going to crash it at around midnight I think, want to be my date?" He asked once he was back on the bed, two mugs of whiskey for them both.

Jax scoffed, "You're hilarious, pirate. I don't do parties."

Harry frowned, learning something new about the boy, "Is that a Jax thing or a Wonderland thing?" He took a sip from his drink.

"A Jax thing. Yeah, no, Wonderlanders throw great parties. The last party I remember attending however was much more juvenile, Ruby Queen's ninth birthday. I'm pretty sure it was me that dared the Dodo's kid to fly. It wasn't pretty."

"Ruby Queen?"

"Yeah, the Queen's daughter."

"Hearts or Red?"

"Red. Hearts was banished from the land."

"I thought both were supposed to be villains." Harry thought out loud.

"Wonderland is much more complicated than heroes and villains, love."

"Did you like her? You never talk about your friends, and when you even mention them you immediately clam up." Harry asked as he began to trail a finger lightly against the boy's arm.

"That's probably because I'm getting drunk and nostalgic." He grinned at his boyfriend.

Harry grinned back, "Probably," He leaned down and they shared a short kiss.

"But, to answer your question, I did like her, I still do, she's one of the best people that I know." The Hatter nodded.

"The only person like that for myself that even comes close to that is most likely Uma," Harry said.

"Not even your sisters?"

"Harriet avoids our family like the plague, and CJ is an annoying god-awful creature that I am convinced is not of this world." The pirate groaned out and Jax nodded along with him, knowing that Harry's younger sister was not someone people wanted around.

"Hm," He agreed.

"Uma and Gil are the only few that have actually taken care of me," He explains, "But I wouldn't describe Gil as the best, so yeah, that title falls to Uma."

"What about me?" Jax asked in a very playful way that the pirate caught on to immediately.

"Well, you are the best, love, just at a very specific thing," Harry emphasized.

"Really now?" His voice lowered, along with his head as his mouth leaned into Harry's exposed neck.

"Yeah," He breathed out.

Jax left trails of kisses down the boy's neck and was making his way down his chest.

"Would that specific thing involve my tongue by any chance?" He muttered.

"Perhaps," Harry said, gasping slightly at how low Jax had gotten. Those were the last words to be said that night, other than cursing and each other's names of course.

Harry's main focus was to try and remember what little he knew of the Red Queen's child, but soon enough the rest of that night overcame his focus and he was lost in those euphoric memories. And since the pirate remembered the details of that night with an elephant's memory, he was quite literally immersed in them, it was Gil that snapped his fingers next to his face to try and get the boy to refocus on the current situation.

"Alright, everybody stay on their toes." He heard Jay caution as he made a turn, his back to the school.

"Look, since we're here, let's check the school." Uma requested.

"No." Mal shook her head, "Audrey went straight for the crown, so I think it's safe to assume that she's going to go for Ben and his castle next. That's where we'll go." She nodded her head, and the boys on her side nodded along with her.

Uma wasn't happy with being bossed around, especially when she was supposed to be the one charge there. "Says who?"

"Says me." The purple-haired girl stood her ground.

"Says you and that's supposed to mean something to me?" A fight was prone to occur, it only surprised Harry that they lasted this long without their leaders going at it.

"Guys." Evie halted, knowing they had bigger things to worry about than leadership.

"To the castle," Mal announced, turning away from the school.

"Hold it!" Everyone tensed at the pirates high strung voice as the Rotten Four looked back at said pirate. He pointed his hook threateningly at Mal, causing Jay to subtly walk up and stand next to her, ready in case Harry decided to do something reckless. "We had a deal. Take me to Ruby Queen. Now." He ordered.

But Mal didn't move. Her friends looked to her, wondering if she was going against the agreement or probably had begun to question that going to Ruby Queen wasn't the best idea.

"Our deal was that you would take me to them. I'm not going anywhere until then, and do you really want a pirate strolling through these pretty streets?" Harry's eyes scoured the land.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and Audrey will spell you too," Spoke Jay, his voice patronizing.

Mal finally talked, "She's probably asleep, I mean look around." She gestured to the slumbering students that filled the courtyard.

"So could Jax!" Harry snapped at her in a loud voice, causing the villain kids on the opposite side to take a step back, "Now take me to her." He whispered.

Uma stood next to him, and for a one second, the four thought she was going to try and defuse the situation a bit. Boy, were they wrong. The sea captain looked to Evie rather than Mal, "You say that her word is good." She stated, "Time to prove it," She said with a nod towards the school.

Mal bit back a response and begrudgingly began to walk to the school entrance.

The Rotten Four went ahead and before Harry could follow after them, Uma pulled him aside. "I know you're hurting, but you need to be careful."

"I ain't afraid of them-"

She cut him off, her voice rising with worry, "I'm not talking about them." She got quiet, trying to make him understand without having to say it out loud. A part of her didn't want to say it out loud, if she did- it was like making it all too real. "Don't lose your mind trying to find your love." She knew he would never stop, and all she could do was warn him.

"I think we've all lost our minds long ago, my friend."

♝♗

Everyone stayed quiet as she led the way to the girls' dorm. Once they arrived at Ruby and Allie's bedroom, she gave the door a loud knock. There was no answer, so she did it again.

She was about to try again when Uma shoved her away, "Oh for the love of-" she complained, pushing against the door until it flew wide open.

Her pirate crew came through with her, and soon enough so did the rest of the VK's. Harry was the most ecstatic about finding Ruby, and he did. There she was, the dark-skinned beauty with long wavy hair, her lips stained dark red as she breathed in and out. She slept soundly, a burgundy blanket over her body.

Harry sighed in defeat, cursed under his breath and walked out of the room to stand in the hallway, he couldn't spend another second in that room, knowing it was another dead end. Uma exited the room as well to make sure he was okay. He wasn't. When his best friend appeared in front of him, ready to console him, he only shook his head, "Just give me a minute to meself, would'ya?" He asked in a quiet voice. Uma nodded and went back inside the room.

The other VK's wouldn't admit to it, but they did feel a sense of pity for the young pirate.

Looking back at her sleeping state, Carlos tilted his head, "You know that thing people say, that we look peaceful and more approachable when we're asleep?"

"Yeah?" Evie said.

Carlos shook his head, "She looks just as scary asleep than she does awake."

The teenagers glanced back at her. It was true, it seemed that Ruby maintained her strong appearance even when unconscious. "Huh, she does," Jay agreed.

"Cool," Celia commented.

Meanwhile, Evie was studying the room, and something was off. "Guys," She called out, causing her friends to look at her, "The spell causes you to fall asleep instantly right?"

"Yeah," Mal confirmed.

The blue-haired princess narrowed her eyes, "And yet she still had time to take off her shoes and grab a blanket? Not to mention make it all the way to her bed?"

"Are you saying she's awake?" Mal whispered to her best friend.

The dragon girl might've whispered but it was caught on by everyone in the room, including Harry who had just reentered the place, planning on asking the lot of them as to why they were still in there. His eyes shined brighter with the small deduction that Evie was making. He tried to tell himself to not hold out hope, that it would only crush his spirit all over again. But his inner self wasn't listening, he was looking for any possible way to lead him to Jax.

"No, if this were a trick, she'd be smarter about it," Evie muttered, her head thinking away, as her eyes trailed the rest of the room until they landed on the sleeping girls' desk. "Something's off. Two teacups," She pointed out with her finger as everyone followed her direction and glanced at the two cups. One was filled and the other half gone. "And fresh shoe prints that are way too big to belong to either of the girls." She nodded towards the light caramel carpet on the floor.

"So, what? Someone was here, and they took care of Ruby?" Jay guessed out loud.

"We have no idea of knowing that it was Jax." Mal shook her head when she saw Harry's face change.

"That's true, it could've been some of the other Wonderland kids," Carlos added.

Without another word, Harry sighs and walks to the desk with the teacups. He takes a drink out of both, as he swallows the contents of the second cup he could hear the groaning coming from the ex-villains.

"Three years ago you people used to eat rotten bananas and lumpy oatmeal, don't start getting all high and mighty on him," Uma scolded them.

The cup clanked against the wood as he placed it back, "That one had rum in it, Jax's brand. And it's how he takes his coffee."

"Doesn't prove that he's awake," Mal countered.

"It's something!" Harry suddenly yelled at the group, it was so unexpected that everyone, even his fellow pirates jumped back in surprise, or in fear most likely.

It was Evie that tried to address him, "Whatever it is, we're not going to find answers here. If it was Jax he left Ruby comfortable and safe," She gestured to the sleeping queen, "That could mean that he's out there trying to figure out what happened. Now let's get a move on to try and find him, okay?" She spoke soothingly like she had approached a wild animal.

He only nodded back, breathing deeply as he tried to calm down a few.

♝♗

After an intense brawl with knights and swords, the group had separated so they could try to get more done in a short amount of time. The girls had gone to check on Audrey's dorm room, even if she wouldn't be there, there was bound to be some clue to find her. Meantime, the boys went to try and retrieve Ben.

Harry was stressing, knowing they were wasting their time trying to find the son of the people that did so much damage to his love. They should've been spending that time trying to find the Hatter.

And the blossoming relationship between his own mate and the son of Jafar was making him gag.

"You know what would be fun? To go rafting at a jungle river." Gil urged as he kept scarfing down berries from the bush they placed themselves at.

"Find a lost civilization," Jay suggested.

"Oh! And maybe a penguin!" Gil's eyes widened with enthusiasm.

"Oh, well, you'd find those more on like icebergs but I'd love to see one of those," Jay grinned at Gil's excitement and they both laughed, thinking about adventures and the soon to be discovered. Harry couldn't help but notice the way Jay smiled at Gaston's son, on a usual day, the pirate would tease him about it, but his mind was stressed about much bigger things.

"You guys are killing me!" Harry groaned, walking up behind them to pluck a berry from the bush with his hook. "Hm." He shrugged, wasn't half bad. Though at this point, any food that was fresh was welcomed with open arms. "P.S. your mutt went that way." He told the De Vil boy as he nodded his head to the other direction.

"Carlos!" Said boy jumped from his seat on the rock and ran to the source of his dog's cries.

"Dude, what do you see?" He asked loudly. The dog led them to somewhere else in the forest, so they kept screaming the king's name in hopes to locate him.

"Ben!" Carlos yelled clamorously, trying to find his friend.

The dog barked some more, but Harry didn't catch most of it due to the roaring animal appearing from behind the trees.

It happened so fast, the creature came at them and almost got to one of his best mates, "Gil!" Carlos pulled Gil back before the monster could claw at him.

The beast knocked himself into a tree and then lunged towards Harry but Jay made sure the pirate ducked before he could get any closer. Harry, intending to fight back, almost jammed his hook into the animal. The being landed on the other side of a fallen tree, it roared viciously and lunged at the boys once more. Jay once again saved Harry, pulling him out of the way as the monster made its way up a tree stump, snarling at them to keep away.

"You need some serious nose adjustments," Harry swore at the dog for leading them into a bad situation.

"I'm not so sure," Carlos said, his voice panting from the near attack, as he approached the animal, it growled at him to stay back, "Ben?" He speculated.

"Did Audrey do that? Huh, I thought I recognized those pants." Jay said humorously.

"Oh, he's got a booboo!" Gil noticed the way Beast-Ben held his paw close to his chest, "That's why he's so cranky. You know my dad said that his dad did not handle pain well, at all." Gil informed them, though it wasn't welcomed seeing as how Ben growled from atop his tree stump, almost like he knew what Gil was saying and was taking offense.

Jay glanced at his best friend, "You're good with animals, do something." He nodded at Beast-Ben.

"What?" Carlos asked incredulously but was met with eager looks. "Okay, alright." He gave up and slowly approached his friend, he received more growls, "Hey Ben, it's me, Carlos, okay." He neared and Ben swiped at him, "Whoah! Ben! Ben, it's Carlos, alright? You know me. You helped me once." He tried to make his voice soothing, but it was a bit difficult when he could get maimed any second, "Remember, with Dude? Alright, let me help you. Come on, let me see your hand." Reluctantly, the beast let Carlos have his paw, "Alright, atta boy, uh beast, king, something whatever." He stuttered out, "Oh yeah, it's a big one. Uh, I'm gonna count, alright? One, two," He purposefully left out the three, a usual thing that his friends did whenever they helped each other with injuries. He only got a loud howl from Ben, but it was over quick. "There it is, you did it!" He smiled at his friend.

The moment didn't last long, seeing as Beast-Ben was suddenly blasted with water from an unknown source. Carlos frowned at the act before realizing who it had come from, it was Jane. His smile only grew bigger as he jumped down from the tree stump and ran to her.

While the love birds had reunited, Jay had gone to help Ben down, seeing as his royal highness wasn't doing so good, "Oh that was... funky." The king expressed, panting.

Jay only chuckled back as Ben sat down, "Was. Is." Jay motioned to his teeth.

"Huh? Oh, wow!" He laughed, feeling his canines. He still seemed a bit out of it, no doubt that transformation spells can leave a person dizzy or winded.

Seeing that the king was still a bit transformed, Jane decided on the next thing to do, "You need another blast," She squirted him in the face once more.

The water did nothing but sprinkle down his face and clothes, "Please stop," He pleaded with his friend.

Jane frowned, "Huh, it's Enchanted Lake water, guess it can only do so much." She shrugged. "Also, guys, there is something you should know-" She was cut off by another person joining their company.

"Hey, Jane, did you find him?" Harry's ears perked at the sound of someone else joining their little crusade. It sounded familiar. "Good to see his royal majesty not destroying everything that breathes." Harry knew that voice.

"You?" Ben was astounded by the appearance of the newcomer.

"Me," Jax only grinned back, agitating the king more. Harry stared at him from his corner, it seemed that he and Carlos' lady friend hadn't noticed him yet. He looked physically fine, the dark shirt he wore fitted him well, so the pirate knew he was getting enough to eat, but his eyes had dark circles, like he wasn't getting enough sleep. It worried Harry, but he was mainly focused on the fact that he found him. He actually found his Jax.

"Ruby really was hiding you, wasn't she?" Ben inquired, his voice wasn't harsh, but more curious.

"Now why the hell would I tell you anything?" Jax, on the other hand, was quite hostile.

Ben didn't get a chance to respond, seeing as Harry decided he had waited long enough. "Jax?" His soft voice caused everyone to look to his direction. At that moment, he suddenly wanted them all to vanish into thin air, leaving behind just him and his love. Jax turned to the person who called his name, hearing Harry's voice was like experiencing a happy memory and his amused face turned soft when their eyes met.

♝♗♝♗♝♗

Weren't expecting that were ya?

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no mundanes allowed

- polaroized